Vanessa's AçaíRio de Janeiro Vanessa has one of the most powerful voices on Ipanema Beach, and when she shouts announcing her açaí, singing her own funk parodies, it’s impossible not to hear her even from a distance. Wherever she goes, shouting at the top of her lungs and dancing with contagious energy, she is applauded:…
Marechal's French FriesRio de Janeiro A French fry that has become a true heritage of the Rio de Janeiro suburbs. It was in Marechal Hermes, the first working-class neighborhood in Brazil—designed and inaugurated in the early 19th century by the president of the same name—that Ademar set up his stall more than 30 years ago.…
Mazzaropi's Codfish BallsRio de Janeiro Severino do Ramo Bezerra used to be a sort of country bumpkin. He had never seen a tunnel, like the ones that abound in Rio, when he arrived here in 1969. In his birthplace in the countryside, there was nothing like that. “I wanted to go back no matter what,”…
Morais’s PopsicleRio de Janeiro When Portuguese immigrant Antônio Morais, a peasant from Serra da Estrela, opened the doors of his grocery store in Ipanema, it had been less than 100 years since whales were caught there. In 1936, the tram still ran along Visconde de Pirajá Street. Adriano, the oldest son of Antônio and Maria,…
Luizinho’s CaipirinhaRio de Janeiro Standing behind his stall, Luizinho teaches the customer that “the cravo (clove) is an interesting instrument, little known in our culture. It’s beautiful, a true painting!” His enthusiasm arouses the curiosity of the person, who orders a vodka, lemon, and sugar caipirinha, then adds, extending his hand to pay, “Charge me…
Hambúrguer de Valéria e ViníciosRio de Janeiro The couple was in debt to the last hair when they decided to bet everything – or rather, the borrowed 200 reais – on a box of hamburgers. “We were selling hot dogs, and the business wasn’t going anywhere. We decided to take a risk. We invested in…
Ari’s Quibe Of SoyRio de Janeiro “I have lived through history. I have actively participated in it since Getúlio Vargas’ suicide,” calculates Ari Gonçalves, 76 years old, born in Campos (RJ), “but a carioca at heart since I was fifteen when I moved to Rio.” While serving soybean kibbeh stuffed at Praia do Pepê, in…
Oliveira’s Hot DogRio de Janeiro Oliveira Ferreira da Silva swears he was the pioneer in using corn, peas, and shoestring potatoes in hot dogs. He claims that the latter was his invention in the 1980s: “I was successful with those broken potato chips on top of the sausage, and all the competition copied it. To…
Paulinho’s Patty PieRio de Janeiro On the first day Paulinho put his empada cart on the street, he says, a guy came straight from the “depths” to make him give up: “He was sent, I’m sure. The first empada I sold was to him, with codfish. The guy bit into it and threw it away,…
Lucinha’s AnguRio de Janeiro When she descends the century-old staircase of the house where she lives to set up her stand, Lucinha carries more than just pots, ladles, and other necessary utensils for sale. She carries history, knowledge, and the identity of her ancestors, from her slave great-grandmother, as well as the memories of a…
